BOSTON — The Bruins cleaned out their lockers Monday as the team met the media for the final time following a disappointing season in which Boston missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07.
That said, the B’s did collect 96 points despite losing several players to major injuries and not scoring as many goals as last season. How can the Bruins return to the upper echelon of the NHL? Here are three areas the team could address/improve in the offseason.
Improved Fourth Line
The Bruins had an effective fourth line when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010-11. Dan Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton were able to kill penalties, wear down opponents with a physical style of play and sometimes match up against opponents’ top lines. One of this line’s most effective games was Game 7 of the 2011 Cup Final, when these players averaged over 10 minutes of ice time and made life miserable for Vancouver Canucks players.
But over the last two seasons, the “Merlot Line” as it was often called, became more of a liability than an asset. It was outplayed by a wide margin in Boston’s seven-game second-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens in 2014 and it wasn’t able to provide much scoring production or suppress opponents’ shot attempts this season.
Shawn Thornton was not re-signed after last season and joined with the Florida Panthers as a free agent. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced at Monday’s break-up day press conference that Campbell and Paille won’t be re-signed.
Boston has plenty of in-house options to consider for the new fourth line. Brian Ferlin, Matt Lindblad, Justin Florek, Seth Griffith and Max Talbot all could be considered. The B’s also could opt for a more skilled fourth line with Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak as the primary options.
Championship teams are often able to roll four lines, which puts less of a burden on top-six forwards and gives coaches more versatility. The Bruins had this kind of depth in 2010-11 and 2012-13, and it was among the reasons why they advanced to the Cup Final in both seasons.
Bruins Need To Play A Quicker Game
In the early 2000s, obstruction was becoming a real problem in the NHL and the game was often boring as a result. When the league canceled the 2004-05 season as a result of the lockout, new rule changes were put into place to help increase scoring and speed up the pace of play.
Since that time, teams have placed a higher priority on players with speed and skill, rather than guys who play a punishing brand of hockey.
“That trend’s been going on for a while,” Chiarelli said. “I would say when that rules package came in, that trend has been, with no obstruction, the game has been getting faster with less obstruction. So that’s been going on a while, and so I say that because teams have won by being not always fast, built for speed. Teams have won. But the trend continues, you’re right, and you can’t go too far one way or too far the other. You have to find a balance, and that’s certainly one area where you have to find a balance. But the puck retrieval, and you hear me talk about the transition. I mean, that stuff is important.”
Skating speed, something the Bruins don’t currently have an abundance of, isn’t the only factor when trying to play a more uptempo style.
The Chicago Blackhawks, for example, don’t have a ton of speed on the back end, but their defensemen move the puck quicker than almost any other blue line in the league, and this helps ignite the attack and evade the oncoming forecheck. When the Blackhawks begin their playoff run Wednesday night, watch how fast the puck moves from D-men Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook up ice to forwards Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews.
More than half of this season’s playoff teams finished outside the top 10 in fighting majors, but that doesn’t mean grit and toughness don’t have an impact on the game anymore. As Chiarelli said, teams must find a balance.
“It is a changing game,” Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said. “It’s more skill. Guys aren’t dropping the gloves as much. But there’s something to be said about a team having swagger, or a little bit of an edge and cockiness. I think that’s part of the game that our squad was missing this year.”
Consistency
Inconsistency was an issue at a player and team level for the Bruins this season. From a team perspective, the Bruins had a record of 22-16-3 after a win, and they never won more than five games in a row. The B’s also had seven different losing skids of three or more games after never losing more than two straight games in 2013-14.
From a player perspective, a lot of forwards went long stretches without scoring a goal. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Loui Eriksson, Carl Soderberg, Chris Kelly, Reilly Smith, David Krejci, Campbell and Paille all had at least one goalless drought of 10 or more games among B’s forwards with 40-plus games played.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
